Something About Him
by hexterah
Summary: Another story that's actually post-DN -- very post-DN. Ben Skywalker meets a girl at the Academy and falls for her until a few people from both of their families tells them something they didn't really know. One-poster/short story. Written: 06/06/2006


**Author's Note: **Just an accidental little romantic meeting between slightly distant relatives. Like most of my other short pieces, the idea for this one sort of came out of nowhere. It just hit me one day and I had to write it. Although, it only works when Allana doesn't know her father yet. ;D Written: 06/06/2006.

* * *

**Something About Him**

Ben Skywalker could feel his face flush at her touch, a slight pink tinge under a shaggy curtain of red hair. She had rested her hand on his knee, while they sat there cross-legged on the ground, facing each other.

"You remind me of myself when I was younger, a little bit."

"How?" Her voice was rich, snaking into his ears. His hand found its way over hers.

"I don't know... there's just something about you. I think it's your rebellious streak. I had that a couple years ago, when I was your age."

"You make it sound like you're so old, Ben."

The young Skywalker chuckled, shrugging slightly.

The two of them sat in the middle of a meditating chamber, in the center of a circular design on the lush carpet that padded the floor. They had both shed their heavy cloaks, which were neatly folded and set along the wall and sat staring at one another, just basking in each others presence.

"Ayla?"

"Hm?"

He had met her a couple weeks ago, after they bumped into each other in the west corridor. She recognized him from the holonet as Ben Skywalker and had quickly tried to cover up her nerves. Their friendship quickly grew from there.

"I want to see more of you -- I mean, I want to see you more." Ben chuckled, squeezing her hand that was still on his knee. "I feel like... I feel like I should know you better. I need to know you better. I just..."

Her face cracked into a smile of pearly whites at Ben's stammers and she watched as he quickly shook his head. "I... oh, whatever. You know what I mean."

"I do." Ayla nodded her head, shifting a brown strand of hair behind her ear. She picked up his hand and pressed her palm to his, their eyes locking through their splayed fingers. There was something special about Ben, she knew this. And she wasn't about to let him go.

* * *

Luke Skywalker was laughing over a glass of wine as his sister relayed a particularly embarrassing story about her son, Jacen Solo -- who was currently seated on the couch across from the Skywalker twins. His closest friend and the woman he loved, the Queen Mother of Hapes was seated to his right, stifling a chuckle as well.

Jacen could only grimace and cross his arms, red spreading into his cheeks. "Thanks Mom."

"Oh and you should've seen his face! It was all dirty and muddy and he just couldn't stop crying!"

"Thank you mother." Jacen stated this gratitude a little louder and sterner, which only caused the Skywalker siblings and Tenel Ka to giggle just a tiny more. Solo turned to Tenel Ka, trying not to grin at her apparent fit of laughter at the misfortunes he had when he was younger -- but he found himself smiling slightly, glad that she was enjoying herself.

After the laughter died down, Luke took a sip from him glass before speaking again. "Guess what?"

"What?" Leia inquired in an instant.

"Ben is on a date tonight."

"Oh really?" Jacen suddenly sat forward, his own wine glass dangling between his knees which his elbows were propped upon.

"Yes." Nodding, Luke felt a smile spread at the thought of his twenty-eight year old son finally finding time to date. Of course, Luke remembered how long it had taken him to settle. At least Ben's date wasn't trying to kill him, Luke hoped, as his lips thinned.

"Have you met her? Or has Mara?" This question came from Leia this time, as she set her glass of water down on the table and shuffled her legs up onto the couch, facing her brother and resting her arm along the back of the couch towards him.

Luke sat for a moment before responding, flipping back through conversations he had with Mara about Ben and this new girl. "No, neither of us."

"What do you know about her?" Tenel Ka spoke, her face lighting up a bit at how happy Luke seemed with his son.

"Oh, she's quite younger than him. They met in the halls of the Temple one day. He was on his way to see me -- and I think she was on her way to spar with some of the other trainees. From what he's said though, she seems like a nice girl."

Leia smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes growing more visible. "What's her name?"

"Ayla."

Little did the Skywalker twins know that across the low table from them, Jacen Solo and Tenel Ka had both felt their hearts jump into their throats. Jacen made a blind grab for Tenel Ka's long skirt and tightly clutched at her leg, while the siblings across from them bantered back and forth about Ben and his habits.

"Speaking of that," Leia turned to look at Tenel Ka, faintly noticing Jacen's hand slip away from her leg in the dim light. "How's your daughter?"

"She is... she is very good."

Jacen and Tenel Ka had both been working hard to keep the identity of her father a secret -- which was extra difficult when the girl was in the presence of any Skywalker or Solo possessing the Force. Hell, even Han suspected a thing or two.

"It is getting late though, speaking of Allana. She is at the Temple. I told her I would pick her up." She turned to Jacen and with a stiff smile, she stood. "You are welcome to join me, if you would like."

"Come on, I have to. I am your bodyguard after all." He tried to keep calm as he said his goodbyes to his mother and his uncle.

"Thank you both very much," Tenel Ka nodded towards Luke and Leia. "It was very generous of you to take me away from my work for a bit."

"Anytime Tenel Ka," Luke stood and walked them both to the door.

The instant it shut behind them, the smiles they had plastered on their faces vanished. Without exchanging words, the two bolted down the corridor of the apartment building, Tenel Ka holding her skirt as she ran. They were side-by-side once they reached the repulsorlift and Jacen grabbed Tenel Ka's right arm and pushed her in before him, slipping in afterwards and jamming his finger repeatedly against the button for the main level. "Come on. Come on!"

"Jacen..." Tenel Ka shook her head as the galaxy's seemingly slowest repulsorlift descended to the main floor. "We have to tell her."

"I know. I know, but how?" Jacen slammed his fist up against the interior of the craft as he watched their carefully constructed plan fall to pieces over some silly teenage hormones. He started his sentence calm and it grew into a frenzied state, which echoed in the small chamber. "I can't just be like HEY ALLANA, DARLING! I'M NOT REALLY YOUR BODYGUARD, WELL I KIND OF AM BUT I'M ALSO YOUR DAD. AND BEN IS MY COUSIN, AS YOU KNOW. SO HEY, YOU SHOULDN'T BE... SHOULDN'T... DOING... HIM -- I MEAN DATING -- I..."

"Jacen!" Tenel Ka grabbed his shoulder and shook him a tad, causing him to stop his loud ramble and peer up at her. "We will be careful. Everything will work out fine."

"I hope your right." As the repulsorlift stopped and the door slid open, Jacen dashed out into the lobby, Tenel Ka right on his heels. The two were getting curious glances and mouths agape, but luckily they were running too fast for anyone to catch a glimpse of just who it was that was speeding out into the Coruscant night.

As they ran down the walkways, dodging people and jumping over numerous random items, Tenel Ka pulled out her comlink and channeled it to her nineteen year old daughter. "Ayla!" She snapped into it, using the nickname she and Jacen had given her the first time she tried to pronounce her own name.

* * *

Ben Skywalker let his right hand run up Ayla's neck as his lips met hers. They were warm and inviting, as was her scent, which only succeeded in bringing him closer to her. She didn't shy away from him, her arms snaking up around his neck as they shifted down onto the carpet. Ben was hovering over her now, and he admired the tiny half grin she had on her face before leaning down to plant another kiss on her lips.

"Ayla!"

She hummed into the kiss, Ben quickly pulling away.

"Sorry," her face was flushed as she fumbled for the comlink in her pocket. He noticed this even in the dim neon light that filtered through the windows. He figured it was a mix of embarrassment and the rush of what they had been doing.

He sat up and smiled, resting his hands in his lap. "Go on, it's okay."

Rising to her feet, Ayla meandered to one of the sides of the room, Ben watching her as she went. Tilting his head slightly, he felt an absent smile cross his face. There was definitely something special about this girl, Ben could feel it.

Across the chamber, the comlink crackled with a low female voice. The voice of her mother. "Ayla, we are going to be there in a few minutes to pick you up, alright? Meet us in the main hall."

"Mom, I --"

"Please."

With a loud sigh, she nodded. "Fine." Switching the comlink off, she gathered her cloak from the ground and turned back to Ben, who was silently crouched on his knees, his hands in his lap. "I have to go."

Pulling himself to his feet, Ben wandered over to where she was, brushing her cheek with his right hand. "That's fine. It's not like we won't see each other again."

His smile comforted her and with her free hand, she grabbed his and kissed his knuckles. "Good."

The grin grew and his lips pursed as he thought of an idea. "Hey, I have to go grab something from my Dad's office, but how about I meet you in the lobby and say hi to your parents."

"Oh, it's just my mom and our bodyguard -- but I think that's a great idea."

"Alright then... I'll meet you out there in a few."

Ayla wandered out to the main hall, clutching her cloak in her arms. She felt like she was floating on some sort of cloud. Everything felt so right.

Little did she know -- she could sort of tell by the look on her mother's face -- things were about to feel very wrong.

"What?" Ayla stopped in front of them and watched as her mother and their bodyguard exchanged glances. They didn't speak. "What?!"

Finally, their bodyguard, Jacen Solo, threw his arms out in front of him. "Allana," he used her whole first name, which caused her throat to close. Something was definitely amiss here.

"Allana, I'm your father." There was no other way to go about it, and Jacen could feel Tenel Ka's eyes on him. But he just glanced back at the Queen Mother, nodding slightly. It was the only way. After that, he could only look back to Allana and stutter, motioning endlessly.

One hand pointed towards the back of the Temple, where he assumed his cousin was -- and the other hand pointed at himself. The fingers just kept stabbing at the air, no words coming to Jacen after that.

"Wait, wait." Allana slung her cloak over one shoulder and waved her hands out in front of her. "Nice joke. Mom always told me how horrible you were with jokes."

His fingers stopped in mid-air as he puffed his chest out, suddenly feeling very protective of his daughter. "Do I look like I'm joking, young lady? You think I'd joke about being _your father_? Where do you think you got that little grin from, huh?"

As realization dawned on the girl's face, Jacen let that same half-grin he asked her about spread across his own visage at his apparent triumph.

Allana wasn't mad at the fact that they kept that secret from her for so long, she was more disturbed at the fact that she was falling for a _relative_.

"Ayla, hey I --" Ben Skywalker stopped at the entrance to the main hall, seeing Jacen and Tenel Ka. "Oh hey guys! Are you --?" He stopped, his eyes moving from face to face. The look on Ayla's face was particularly unsettling as she stared back to him, jaw hanging open.

He felt a shock in the Force from Jacen, who sent him an image that had left his mind well over a decade ago. An image that Jacen had stolen from him.

Tenel Ka, cheeks rosy, in a nursery. Jacen Solo, carefully holding a baby in his arms and telling Ben not to say anything about this. The baby. _The baby_.

"That was nineteen years ago..." He hissed, his eyes locked on how grown his second cousin had become. "Oh... no."

"Yeah!" Jacen finally said, his arms flailing above his head. Even at his distinguished age, Jacen Solo's childish air still escaped occasionally. "Nooo!" His fingers shook ahead of him, back and forth as his daughter and his cousin stared at each other.

The lips that were locked before were now both open, mouths hanging wide.

"I..." Ben's face was as red as his hair now. "I... I have to go." One foot after the other, Ben rushed past his cousin and his family, and out of the Temple.

Allana's eyes teared up at the past twenty standard minutes and all she could manage to do was wander into the arms of her father, who stared over her head at her mother, and her mother could only manage a weak smile at how everything worked out.

"I'm sorry." It was all Jacen could manage to say to her for everything. If they had just told her from the start, this would've never happened.

Tenel Ka moved forward and ran her right hand through her daughter's hair, stepping closer to Jacen, who kept one arm around his daughter and placed the other around the Queen Mother. Allana finally pulled back and managed the half-grin Jacen had asked about. "It's... it's fine... I _knew_ there was something about him."


End file.
